South Africa: Adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 1.7 percentage points from 11.33% in 2018. Since 1994 it is up 2.06 percentage points from 7.57% in 1994. The World Bank has no value for 14 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2023, South Africa's adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age) rose 6.33 percentage points on 2022 (from 3.3% to 9.63%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2022), the average change was −1.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.33 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.81 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 8 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, South Africa had the 8th highest value of the 30 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to South Africa in the 2023 ranking

• Nicaragua — 4th of 30: 16.55%
• Romania — 5th of 30: 16.26%
• Ecuador — 6th of 30: 13.62%
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 8th of 30: 7.58%
• Dominica — 9th of 30: 7.46%
• Sri Lanka — 10th of 30: 6.53%

What this measures

Adolescents out of school are the percentage of lower secondary school age adolescents who are not enrolled in school.

Limitations: The administrative data used in the calculation of the rate of out-of-school children are based on enrolment at a specific date which can bias the results by either counting enrolled children who never attend school or by omitting those who enroll after the reference date for reporting enrolment data. Furthermore, children who drop out of school after the reference date are not counted as out of school. Discrepancies between enrolment and population data from different sources can also result in over- or underestimates of the rate.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 16 values

Adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age) in nearby economies

• Botswana — 9.17% (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 59.31% (2024)
• Burundi — 37.09% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 66.27% (2022)
• Cameroon — 47.1% (2023)
• Chad — 58.62% (2024)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 30.81% (2024)
• Eritrea — 37.09% (2022)
• Eswatini — 7.27% (2022)

More education data for South Africa

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 14 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 7.52 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 101.77% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 99.21% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 104.32% (2023)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure) — 19.14% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age)?

9.63% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1994?

It is up 2.06 percentage points from 7.57% in 1994. The highest value was 25.13% in 2001 and the lowest 3.3% in 2022.

How does South Africa rank?

8th highest of 30 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age) unusual for South Africa?

In 2023, South Africa's adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age) rose 6.33 percentage points on 2022 (from 3.3% to 9.63%). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2022), the average change was −1.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.UNER.LO.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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